2004 hurricane Frances, not a killer storm but hit our area and caught everyone by surprise.
Generator Maintenance – backup power changes the game during an event.
The .22 Rifle: Every Prepper should have one (or two)
Why every Prepper should have a .22 Rifle:
- The rifles are inexpensive and readily available.
- The ammo is inexpensive.
- The ammo is lightweight, small, readily available (now) and stores/packs easily.
Water Source May Be In Your Backyard – swimming pools
During a bug in situation, your pool could be a life saver. I was visiting a friend the other day. They have an above ground pool. I asked what shade of green he was attempting to reach. He advised he will take care of it when summer arrives.
Don’t leave home without them – paper maps
We all know our local surroundings to a certain extent, but if we had to travel beyond our everyday lives or worse, if we need to take more rural routes then you’ll be grateful for old fashioned paper maps. GPS is great for the most part if your in your car. If your on foot, things will change drastically.
Continue reading “Don’t leave home without them – paper maps”Portable Lighting – you probably already have one
So I’m walking around the urban homestead the other day and said, “jeez look at all the flashlights I have”. Time to collect and organize. All of the lights still work to some extent. The small white with blue band was the only one that didn’t light up. It looks like it runs off of those small coin batteries. I recommend shying away from these lights as I think coin type batteries will be near hard to find during and after an incident of major proportions. Here is a quick rundown of my favorites. LED is the way to go nowadays.
Keeping your well clean – A week long project WELL worth the effort!
At our remote location, we are blessed to have two shallow wells. One close to the house, this is our primary supply and one lower on the property that proves useful in times of drought when the upper well runs dry. The wells only had a wood cover, with plenty of room for critters, dirt, runoff to get in to it. This was not a great selling point with the spouse. Clean water is a must for spouses, and my survival. We added a concrete curb generously around the existing shallow rock well. Then built a wooden cap with an easy to lift lid and vent. The whole project took less than a week to complete including paying a brave chap to pump the well out, climb down into the well and wash the rock walls with a bleach solution and let it regenerate with water. This project adds a layer of confidence when cooking, showering and brushing your teeth. Do everything you can to keep your well water clean.
Reuse, Repair, Rake – rake repair from two broken tools.
Desperate times will call for creative repairs. I broke an old hoe and also had a broken rake. I fashioned the end of the hoe handle to fit the rake as I use the rake more frequently and I can mix concrete with a shovel when I need too.
Using an axe, I roughed the end down to match the smaller diameter rake handle. Fine tuned it with my carving knife. Located and hand drilled the bolt hole. Scraped the new old handle down and sanded off the old weather. Then gave the handle a heavy coat of boiled linseed oil. Bolted the rake head back on and I’m back in business.
You Probably Already Have One – A house full of prepper supplies.
With the new year upon us, I decided to search out my lifetime collection of pocket knives. They have been purchased, gifted or acquired over my lifetime. I was surprised at how many I had scattered all over. Brought back a few memories as well. My first knife was the Boy Scout knife at the bottom, it was also the first time I realized, knives are sharp. To add insult to injury, I didn’t win the pinewood derby.
